Judge Rules Man Who Stabbed Missing Victim Is Guilty : Crime: Carlsbad man may face jail term for second-degree attempted murder in stabbing attack against Asian man who later disappeared.

A Vista Superior Court judge found a Carlsbad man guilty of second-degree attempted murder Tuesday in a case in which the victim remains mysteriously absent.

In the non-jury trial, Judge David B. Moon Jr., found that Rodney Lee Graham made a “vicious attack” on a tall, Asian male in an Oceanside 7-Eleven last December and that he had made a deliberate decision to kill the man.

“He intended to do this fellow in,” Moon said. “Clearly, the defendant had some sort of disagreement with the victim . . . and had the state of mind of malice toward this victim.”

Graham, a 24-year-old dishwasher, had repeatedly stabbed a man after the man allegedly stole $20 from Graham and ran into a nearby convenience store. The attack was witnessed by at least three clerks and several customers, and was also filmed on the store’s security camera.

The victim, despite having been stabbed several times in the neck, head and chest, walked out of the store and was never seen again. Police followed a trail of blood to a nearby parking lot, but could not find the man.

Authorities have scoured local hospitals and morgues in vain for the missing man.

Graham, who faces as much as 13 years in prison, maintained that he never stabbed the victim, but that the two had fought for control of Graham’s knife, resulting in the victim’s wounds. But three prosecution witnesses testified that Graham repeatedly stabbed the man and that blood was gushing from the victim’s chest, neck and head.

“This is a vicious attack on this victim to vital parts of his anatomy, inflicting extremely serious wounds,” Moon said.

William Saunders, the public defender assigned to the case, argued that Graham had not intended to kill the man and was instead guilty of a lesser charge of either attempted manslaughter or assault with a deadly weapon.

“His state of mind was one of intense anger and he lost his temper under intense provocation,” Saunders said.

Saunders pointed out that the dispute was over money, and Graham had repeatedly shouted “I want my money,” never threatening to kill the man.

But Deputy Dist. Atty. Greg Walden, who was hoping to convict Graham for first-degree attempted murder, told the judge that “actions speak louder than words” in this case and referred to one witness’ testimony that the attack was similar to a person who “was attempting to tenderize meat.”

“If Mr. Graham wasn’t attempting to kill this person, I’d hate to see him when he really gets mad and really tries to kill a person,” Walden said.